On this day: December 14

George Washington dies, a spacecraft flies by Venus for the first time, Bob Dylan releases his first single, President George W. Bush ducks flying shoes, and tragedy hits Sandy Hook, all on this day.

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Baseball Digest

1985: Roger Maris, whose 61 home runs during the 1961 season for the New York Yankees broke Babe Ruth's single-season record and would stand for 37 years, dies of Hodgkin's lymphoma at the age of 51 in Houston, Texas. Maris played the bulk of his 12-season major-league career with the Yankees but also played for the Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals. He appeared in seven World Series, five as a member of the Yankees and two with the Cardinals.